JU5-24: All Believers, Whether Merchant Or Soldier, Are Called To Be Warriors For The Lord’s Kingdom

“From Efrayim came those rooted in ‘Amalek.
Behind you, Binyamin is with your peoples.
From Makhir the commanders marched down,
and from Z’vulun those holding the musterer’s staff.”
-Judges 5:14

The part in verse 14 mentioning the tribe of Zebulun is another one of those head-scratchers.

The Complete Jewish Bible says…

“…and from Z’vulun those holding the musterer’s staff“.

The King James says…

“…and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer“.

The NIV says…

“…from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s staff“.

Not one of those translations makes any sense now, does it?

Like what in the heck does the “musterer’s staff” mean?

Or who is “bearing a commander’s staff”?

And what does the King James version mean when it says “they that handle the pen of a writer”?

If we were to literally translate from the Hebrew, it would say something like… 

…”the rod of those who use the pen of the scribe”.

Hmm…that doesn’t help much either, does it?

Let’s see if we can piece the real meaning of this verse together.

See, what’s confusing is that a rod was a symbol of authority in ancient times.

However, a scribe was NOT a person of royalty or one who held authority.

So what gives here?

Here’s the deal.

The “rod” is referring to the scribe’s writing instrument such as a pen or a quill. 

In ancient times, and especially during the period of Judges, very few people besides the scribes could write and they were responsible for recording the pronouncements of the king.

Which is why they held such an esteemed position in society.

However, what’s also interesting is the ancient Jewish sages say the phrase “rod of a scribe” was just a poetic idiom that meant “men who use a pen”.

Let’s not forget we’re dealing with a song here, right?

So we shouldn’t be surprised at the presence of idioms or other dramatic expressions.

Okay, let’s break this down.

Zevulun was known as the merchant’s tribe.

And merchants were among the very few folks in society besides the scribes who used a pen.

They needed their pens to record all their trading transactions.

Furthermore, the text does NOT say the men from Zevulun who went to battle were “scribes” which is SOFERTIM in Hebrew.

All the Hebrew is saying is these men were those who handled the chief tool of a scribe which was a pen.

Therefore, the real meaning of this verse is…

…EVEN the merchants, folks who normally wouldn’t participate in a war, also got caught up in the religious fervor and responded to Devorah’s call to fight the good fight against the Canaanites.

The takeaway for today is simple.

Whether you’re male or female.

Or Jew or gentile.

Or a soldier or merchant.

We’re ALL called to take up our crosses and be warriors for the Kingdom of God.